Mammals

American Black Bear (Ursus americanus)

DJ was probably orphaned when about 2 months old in 2003. He arrived at the zoo in September 2006. He is still growing but currently is about 6 ft. tall and weighs nearly 400 lbs.

Josie, DJ’s former cagemate passed away in early summer of 2010 due to a degenerative spinal condition. She was 22 years old.

Athena and Yonah, two female cubs arrived in the spring of 2010. These orphaned cubs were found in Stephens County, Georgia after their mother had been killed by poachers. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources contacted the zoo about the possibility of placing them at Bear Hollow due to the fact that they are imprinted and non-releasable due to being orphaned at such a young age. Originally, the bear cubs were housed in the former river otter exhibit near the front of the zoo (which is now the Beaver exhibit!), but they moved to the existing black bear exhibit with DJ once renovations were completed. Pictured right is a now adult Athena showing off the white patch on her chest, which is easily the best way to identify her as opposed to her sister Yonah.

Bobcat (Lynx rufus)

Katie came from the Ellijay Wildlife Rehabilitation Sanctuary in 2006. She was born in 2002.

White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

Rocky was brought to the Zoo from the Department of Natural Resources, after also being kept as a pet. He arrived in June 2013.

Rose was orphaned as a very young fawn in the spring of 2015.

White-tailed deer played an integral role in the history of Bear Hollow Zoo. At one time, this site was used to raise white-tail deer to be released in the area, as they were actually in danger of being wiped out from the State of Georgia. During this endeavor, the University of Georgia developed the first dart gun, which is now used throughout the world as often the safest means of tranquilizing wild animals.

Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana)

We have two sibling opossums on exhibit. Brother and sister, they were orphaned as babies in the late spring of 2014. They had some minor injuries for our vets to treat. As they grew up in the hands of people, it became apparent that they would make excellent ambassadors for their species! We handle them often to keep them comfortable with people, and so that they can teach our visitors how lucky we are to have them around.

Zoo visitors voted on their names at Zoo Day 2014 - Marcy (as in marsupial!) for the female, and Joey (as in baby marsupial!) for the male.

North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis)

We exhibit two river otters, both arrived in 2015 from a wildlife rehabilitation facility in Florida.

One otter arrived as an adult after having sustained head trauma from a collision with a car. His rehabbers did not feel that he was fit to return to the wild.

One otter arrived as a juvenile after having been orphaned in the wild. He was raised by rehabbers but failed his release, twice. He was placed with us shortly after and has proven to be a good companion for our first otter as well as an energetic exhibit animal.